Cartridge type reed relay construction



April 12, 1966 w. F. BARTON CARTRIDGE TYPE REED RELAY CONSTRUCTION 2Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 29, 1963 (as Q VENTOR. Mraf@ M BY A Elim ma,i275 April l2, 1966 w. F. BARTON 3,245,095

CARTRIDGE TYPE REED RELAY CONSTRUCTION Filed July 29, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 j 1 ENTOR W mymm United States Patent O 3,246,095CARTRIDGE TYPE REED RELAY CQNSTRUC'HON William Forbes Barton, RollingMeadows, Ill., assigner to Standard Grigsby, Inc., a corporation ofDeiaware Filed .idly 29, 1963, Ser. No. 298,292 Claims. (Cl. 20G-87)This invention relates to improved cartridge type reed relayconstructions and methods of assemblying the saine, more particularly,to such improved constructions and methods providing economy andversatility in manufacture and simplicity in use.

Reed relay contacts are available in many combinations of contactsurfaces and voltage and current ratings and for each of thesecombinations more than one coil may be specified, depending uponoperating requirements. For a manufacturer of reed relays of thecharacter here involved to stock a complete line of such devices becomesa monumental project because of the innumerable combina-tions of contactsurfaces and ratings.

Cartridge type reed relays of the general character involved in t isapplication are disclosed in the application of the same inventor,Serial No. 224,779, iiled September 19, 1962, and entitled ElectricalRelay. Relays as disclosed in application Serial No. 224,779, included acoil, an insulatingy sleeve, terminals and a relay contact assembly asseparate units, all of which were assembled irst and thereafter thecombination was made unitary by filling the space inside of the sieevcwith a plotting compound, such as epoxy resin.

The epoxy resin takes a certain time to cure and sometimes in curingshrinks unevenly thereby causing casing fractures. Moreover, once thepotting compound has set, it is not possible to disassemble the relaycontacts and the coil. Thus, if one of these elements fails, the wholeunit must be discarded.

Because of the time delay involved in curing the potting compound arelay manufacturer, to be most expeditious in furnishing his product,would have to stock a large number of relay including many combinationsof ydilierent coils and different relay contact surfaces therebycreating an inventory problem.

It is a further object `of the invention to provide an improvedcartridge type reed relay construction whereby the actuating coilincluding terminals for the winding and for the relay contacts may bepre-assembled such that iinal assembly requires only the insertion ofthe reed Contact assembly into the coil and connecting, as by soldering,the reed terminals to the appropriate coil assembly terminals.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved cartridgetype reed relay construction whereby the reed contact assembly may bequickly and readily attached to or removed lfrom the coil assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a relay of thecharacter indicated having7 improved arrangements for connecting theactuating coil terminals and the relay Contact terminals into electricalcircuits in a facile manner.

In carrying out the invention in one form, a cartridge type electricalrelay is provided comprising in combination, an elongate coilencapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal members disposedon said encapsulating material intermediate the ends thereof andconnected one each to the ends of said coil, a central longitudinalopening extending through the encapsulated coil, a terminal conductordisposed on each end of said encapsulating material, a reed relayelement having an exterior dimension so as to be relatively easilyinserted into and removed yfrom said opening disposed in said ICCopening, said reed relay element comprising an insulating tube and atleast a pair of cantilever reeds of conductive material projecting fromopposite ends of the insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent endswithin said insulating tube, and terminal members connecting each one ofsaid reeds to an associated terminal conductor respectively -forpositioning said reed relay element in said opening and for providingelectrical connection to said reeds.

For a `fuller understanding of the invention, reference may be had tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FlGURE 1 is a sectional View of a reed relay construction embodying theinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded View in perspective of certain componentsillustrated in assembled form in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded View in perspective similar to FIG. 2 but at alater stage of assembly;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view partially broken away of anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View of a component included in the assembly ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevational View partially broken away of another form ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 8a, b, c and d are modified forms of contacts or connectorsforming one of the components according to the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the invention is shown in areed relay construction 10 comprising a coil or winding assembly 11, anda reed relay assembly 12.

The coil assembly 11, as illustrated, comprises a Winding 13encapsulated in some suitable insulating material 14, such as Nylon forexample, a pair of contact bands and 16, a pair of insulating spacerbands 17 and 1S, and end ferrules 19 and 21. The winding 13 encapsulatedlin the Nylon material 14 forms a rigid construction capable forsupporting the other components of the relay and is a preferred form ofconstruction. Other forms may be used, such for example as a coil woundupon a spool or bobbin having the exterior surface Wrapped with suitableinsulating material, such as tape. The encapsulated coil 13, `14 has acentral opening or bore 22 therethrough of appropriate dimensions toreceive the reed relay assembly 12.

Conveniently, the encapsulation 14 may include a central shoulder 23adjacent the edges of which the leads 24 and 25 of the Winding 13 may bebrought out. Disposed against opposite edges of the shoulder 23 are theterminal bands 15 and 16, tne lead 24 being connected to the band 15 asby a Iblob of solder and the lead 25 being connected to the band 16similarly by a blob of solder. The encapsulation 14 fmay include grooves26 and 27 extending outwardly from the shoulder 23 for receiving theindented or depressed portions 28 and 29 of terminal bands 15 and 16,respectively, whereby the terminal bands are prevented from tending torotate inasmuch as they may ybe of a diameter to be easily received overthe appropriate portion of the encapsulation. Each depressed portion 28and 29 may have a cut out portion at one end for receiving therespective leads 24 and 25 and for providing an appropriate seat for thesolder connection. Other ways `of holding the terminal bands 15 and 16from rotating may be utilized, for example, as by staking, shownindented at 31.

The insulating 4bands 17 and 18 may be formed of any suitable insulatingmaterial, are of a dimension to be easily received over the appropriateportion of the encapsulation 14, and are disposed, respectively, againstthe outer edges of the terminal bands 15 and 16 in order to hold thesemembers longitudinally in position. Disposed -against the outer edge ofthe insulating bands 17 and 18 are the end ferrules 19 and 21 therebyholding the various bands in position. The ferrule 19 may have adepressed portion 32 and the end ferrule 21 may have a depressed portion33, each to be received in the grooves 26 and 27 for preventing rotationof the ferrules.

As shown, the ferrules 19 and 21 are provided with openings 34 and 35corresponding in size with the bore 22 and located at the ends thereof.If desired, the ferrules 19 and 21, similarly to the bands 15 and 16,may be affixed to the encapsulation -by stakes 36 as shown.

At final assembly, the reed irelay element 12 becomes disposed inside ofthe coil by inserting the element through either of the openings 34 and35 into the bore 22. After the `reed relay element 12 is so placed,eyelets 37 and 38 may be disposed to close openings 34 and 35. Theeyelets include slots through which the terminals of the relay element12 are received following which blobs of solder 39 and 41 may be appliedto finally connect the relay element terminals to the eyelet and theeyelets to the ferrules, thereby also serving to position the reed relayelement in bore opening 22. The blobs of solder may be sufficientlylarge to completely seal the ends of the relay, if desired.

The reed relay element 12 may be of any well-known form and -consistsessentially of a hollow insulating chamber 42 within which are disposedat least two magnetizable cantilever supported reed elements 43 `and 44.In one typical form of such reed relay the chamber 42 may consist ofglass and the reeds 43 and 44 supported by means of glass to metal sealsat each end, the reeds overlapping at their interior ends, as shown, inorder to form contact surfaces. Extending yfrom the reeds 43 and 44 areterminals 45 and 46 which may be flattened, as shown, in order to bereceived through elongated slots in the eyelets 37 and 3S.

In the operation of the completed relay, energization is supplied to thewinding 13 through leads 24 and 25 and contact bands 15 and 16.Energization of the coil provides a magnetic eld along its axis which`field acts on the magnetizable reeds 43 and 44 and causes these reedsto move into engagement at their interior ends. Thus contact is made forthe electrical circuit into which the relay is connected, the circuitbeing completed through the ferrules 19 and 21 and the reed elementterminals 45 and 46 as is well understood in this art. While the reeds43 and 44, as shown, are normally -open for movement into closedposition upon energization of the Winding, it will be understood thatthe reverse may be true without the exercise of invention, that is, thereeds 43 and 44 may be normally closed and caused to move into the openposition by energization of the winding.

Conveniently, the coil proper consists of the winding 13 and theencapsulation 14 and may be provided as a unit upon which the terminalbands and `16 may be slid followed by the insulating spacers 17 and 18andthe ferrules 19 and 21. Upon soldering the leads 24 and 25 to thebands 15 and -16 `and staking the ferrules 19 and 21 and theencapsulation, a -unitary coil is completed as may be seen in FIGS. 1and 3. In this manner coils may be pre-assembled and Iheld available forfinal assembly with reed relay elements 12.

Reed relay elements 12 may be available in a large number ofcombinations of cont-act surfaces, for example, gold, silver or rhodiumtogether with various voltage and current ratings rfor each of thesecontact surface types. Any one of a large variety of reed relay elementsmay be assembled with the same type of coil which is convenient forfinal assembly, thereby obv-iating the need for stocking finalassemblies ahead of time. As may be seen best in FIG. 3, a near finalassembly step cornprises the insertion of the reed relay element 12 intothe assembled coil followed by the placement of eyelets 37 and 38 overthe ends of the iiattened terminals 45 and 46. The soldering step willbe the final step in completing the relay. If desired, the ends of theterminals 45 and 46 may be llong enough to be bent over prior to thesoldering operation.

Since the relay element 12 ordinarily would be assembled from one endonly, it is essential only that one of the fet-rules be provided with asufficiently large opening. The other maybe provided with a smalleropening suicient to receive the appropriate terminal of the reed relayelement.

If it is desired to disassemble the coil and the reed relay element, aswhen one or the other components fails, it is necessary only to melt theblobs of solder 39 and 41 to loosen the eyelets 37 and 3S, therebyenabling the reed relay element 12 to be slid out of the bore 22. Aftersuch removal, the Ireed relay element or the coil, which ever is faulty,may be disposed of and a new component substituted.

The reed relay element 12 is held in position inside of the coil 11 bymeans of the soldered connections between the terminals 45 and 46 andthe ferrules 19 and 21. In particular instances wherein the terminals 45and 46 are bent over the eyelets 37 and 33, the solder may be dispensedwith and the relay element still held in position at the ferrules 19 and21.

Referring to FIGS 4 and 5, there is shown a form of the inventionsuitable for use in connection with a reed relay element 47 whichincludes normally open as well as normally closed contacts.

The coil proper 48, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is essentially the same asthat illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprises an encapsulation 49 including awinding therein whose terminals are the terminal bands 51 and 52.Ferrules 53 and 54 are provided as shown and the reed relay elementterminal 55 is attached to the ferrule 54 -by means of an eyelet andsolde-r as described in connection with FIG. l. In addition to theterminal bands 51 and 52, a terminal band 56 is provided and is held inposition. One end of the reed relay element 47 includes terminals 57 and58 which maybe bent into the form shown or into any other form suit-ablefor assembly. The terminals 57 and 53 may be held in spaced position asby a grommet 59 and, as shown, the terminal 58 is bent so that its endlies adjacent ferrule 53 and the terminal 57 is bent so that its endylies adjacent contact band 56, the terminal 57 being spaced away lfromferrule 53 so as to be electrically insulated therefrom. In the nalassembly the terminal 58 `is soldered to ferrule 53 and the terminal 57is soldered to terminal band 56, as shown.

The reed relay element 47 may be provided by the manufacturer with theterminals 57 and 58 bent into the shapes shown, or other appropriateshapes, so that in the final assembly process no further bending of`these members is necessary. The dimensions of the terminals 57 4and 5Sare such that the ends of the terminals, without further manipulation,come opposite the points where `solder is to be applied. The reeds 6-1and 62 are shown in closed contact position and upon energization of thecoil through terminal bands 51 and 52, the reed 62 moves into contactwith reed 63 thereby closing the circuitl through these members andopening the circuit through 'reeds 61 and 62.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, a further form of the invention is shown whereby aplurality of reed rel-ay elements may be disposed in a single assemblyand energized from a single coil. In this manner a convenient andcompact arrangement of relays which are intended to be operated at thesame time is provided for easy insertion into and removal from acircuit.

Thus, an encapsulation 64 is provided having a winding 65 encapsulatedtherein, the winding being formed so as to provide a magnetic fieldalong ythe axes of the relays to be actuated thereby. The encapsulation64 includes bosses 66 and 67 integral therewith over which ferrules 68and 69 may be provided and held thereon by staking, for example. One endof the coil may be soldered to ferrule 68 and the other terminal coilmay be soldered to ferrule 69 as shown.

The -assembly as shown in FIG. 6 operates .three relay elements.Accordingly, the encapsulation includes at each end thereof ofprojecting bosses over which ferrules 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76 aredisposed and held such as by staking. Interiorly of the encapsulation 64and centrally disposed with respect to cooperating pairs of the ferrulesyare bores 77, 78 and 79 for receiving appropriate reed relay elementssoldered to the ferrules as shown. The multiple relay assembly or" FIG.6 is adapted to be used as a unit. Thus, the appropriate contactreceptacle for the reed relay `assembly may be so disposed that, uponinserting the assembly into position, the ferrules 68 and 69 engageappropriate contacts for energization of the coil 65 and at the sametime the pairs of enrules 71, 74, 72, 75 and 73, 76 engage theappropriate receptacle contacts.

If desired, the coil 65 may have its ends brought out in the form ofleads 79 and 81 instead of being attached to ferrules 68 and 69.

The assemblies disclosed are, of course, adapted to be used with otherforms of contact members. For example, eyelets 37 and 38 and the contactbands l5 and 16 may be in the form, respectively, shown in FIGS. 8c and8b. Thus, eyelet 82 may include a spade 83 and Contact hand 84 mayinclude a spade 85. A relay assembled with contact bands 84 and eyelets82 is ena-bled to be plugged into a circuit Where appropriatereceptacles are provided for spades 83 and 85 as compared with contactiingers for engaging the surfaces of the bands and ferrules as shown inapplication Serial No. 224,779. Similarly, the end ferrule 86 (FIG. 8d)may include a spade 87 for insertion into a receptacle. Thisconstruction could be used in lieu of one utilizing eyelets 82 at theend of the coil. As shown in FIG. 8a, the contact bands, instead of aspade, may include a simple stud S8 for engaging a contact or terminalprovided for the purpose.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it willbe understood, of course, that the invention is not limited theretosince many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplatedby the appended claims `to cover any such modiiications as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A cartridge type electrical relay .comprising in combination, anelongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminalmembers disposed on said encapsulating material intermediate the endsthereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, a centrallongitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, a terminalconductor disposed at each end of said encapsulating material, at leastone of said terminal conductors having an opening therethroughcorresponding with said longitudinal opening, a reed relay elementhaving an exterior dimension so as to be relatively easily inserted intoand removed from said longitudinal opening and said one terminalconduct-or opening disposed in said coil longitudinal opening, saidrelay element comprising an insulating tube `and at least a pair ofcantilever reeds of conducting material projecting from opposite ends ofthe insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent ends within saidinsulating tube, terminal members respectively extending from each oneof said reeds to an associated terminal conductor, and means including athermally softenable element for sealing said terminal member openingand for connecting each one of said terminal members to a respective oneof said terminal conductors for positioning said reed relay element insaid opening and for providing electrical connections to said reeds.

2. A cartridge type electrical relay comprising in combination, anelongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminalbands encircling said encapsulated coil intermediate the ends thereofand connected one each to the ends of said coil, means for locating eachone of said terminal bands in position on said encapsulating material, acentral longitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, aconducting ferrule disposed at each end of said encapsulating material,at least one of said terrines having an opening therethroughcorresponding in size to and in registry with said longitudinal opening,means for locating each one of said ferrules in position on saidencapsulating material, conducting means for closing said ferruleopening, a reed relay element having an exterior dimension so as to :berelatively easily inserted into and removed from said longitudinalopening and said one ferrule -opening disposed in said longitudinalopening, said reed relay element comprising an insulating tube and atleast a pair of cantilever reeds of conducting material projecting fromopposite ends of the insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent endswithin said insulating tube, terminal members respectively extendingfrom one of said reeds to one of said ferrules and from the other ofsaid reeds to said closing means, and means including a thermallysoftenable element for connecting one of said terminal members to itsassociated ferrule and the other of said terminal members to saidclosing means for positioning said reed relay element in saidlongitudinal opening and for providing electrical connections to saidreeds.

3. A coil unit for a cartridge type electrical relay comprising incombination, an elongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, apair of terminal bands encircling the encapsulated coil intermediate theends thereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, means forlocating each one of said terminal bands in position on saidencapsulating material, a central longitudinal opening extending throughthe encapsulated coil, a conducting errule disposed at each end of saidencapsulating material, at least one of said errules having an openingtherethrough corresponding in size to and in registry `with saidlongitudinal opening, and means for locating each one of said ferrulesin position on said encapsulating material.

4. A cartridge type electrical relay comprising in combination, a coilencapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal membersintermediate the ends of said encapsulating material for connection to asource of excitation and a conducting ferrule at each end of saidencapsulating material, the encapsulated coil and at least one of saidferrules having longitudinal openings therethrough, a reed relay elementincluding terminals easily receivable through said openings disposedinside said coil with the relay element terminals adjacent said ferrulesrespectively, and thermally sottenable means attaching said relayelement terminals respectively to said conducting ferrules.

5. A cartridge type electrical relay comprising an elongate coilencapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal bands encirclingthe encapsulated coil intermediate the ends thereof and connected oneeach to the ends of said coil, means for locating each one of saidterminal bands in position on said encapsulating material, a centrallongitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, aninsulating spacer band disposed on said encapsulating material adjacenteach one of said terminal bands, a further terminal band encircling theencapsulated coil adjacent one of said insulating bands, a furtherinsulating spacer band disposed on said encapsulating material adjacentsaid further terminal band, a conducting terrule disposed at each end ofsaid encapsulation and abutting said further insulating spacer andanother one of said insulating spacers, at least the ferrules adjacentsaid further insulating spacer having an opening therethroughcorresponding in size to and in registry with said longitudinal opening,means for locating each one of said ferrules in position on saidencapsulating material, conducting means for closing said terminalopening, a reed 7 relay element having an exterior dimension so as to berelatively easily inserted into and removed from said longitudinalopening and said one ferrule opening and disposed in Said longitudinalopening, said reed relay element comprising an insulating tube and threecantilever reeds of conducting material forming a normally open set anda normally closed set of contacts projecting from opposite ends of theinsulating tube and overlapping at adjacent ends within said insulatingtube, two terminal members extending from two of said reeds through theferrule having said opening, one of said two terminal membersterminating at the ferrule having said opening and the other of said twoterminal members terminating at said further terminal ban-d, a furtherterminal member extending from the other one of said reeds to saidclosing means, and means including a thermally softenable element forconnecting one of said two terminal members to its as- References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,726,100 8/1929 DaCosta 336-96 X2,289,830 7/1942 Ellwood 20G-87 X 2,487,052 ll/1949 Hastings 200-872,783,326 2/1957 Hanson et al. 200-87 2,870,287 1/1959 Corbitt et al.200-87 3,076,072 l/ 1963 Roschul; 20G-87 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, PrimaryExaminer.

3. A COIL UNIT FOR A CARTRIDGE TYPE ELECTRICAL RELAY COMPRISING ACOMBINATION, AN ELONGATE COIL ENCAPSULATED IN INSULATING MATERIAL, APAIR OF TERMINAL BANDS ENCIRCLING THE ENCAPSULATED COIL INTERMEDIATE THEENDS THEREOF AND CONNECTED ONE EACH TO THE ENDS OF SAID COIL, MEANS FORLOCATING EACH ONE OF SAID TERMINAL BANDS IN POSITION ON SAIDENCAPSULATING MATERIAL, A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL OPENING EXTENDING THROUGHTHE ENCAPSULATED COIL, A CONDUCTING FERRULE DISPOSED AT EACH END OF SAIDENCAPSULATING MATERIAL, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FERRULES HAVING AN OPENINGTHERETHROUGH CORRESPONDING IN SIZE TO AND IN REGISTRY WITH SAIDLONGITUDINAL OPENING, AND MEANS FOR LOCATING EACH ONE OF SAID FERRULESIN POSITION ON SAID ENCAPSULATING MATERIAL.